Getting Emgality From Your Pharmacy
You’ve decided to try Emgality (galcanezumab) for migraine prevention, you’ve got your prescription from an obliging doctor and now you have to get the prescription filled from a local pharmacy. Unfortunately, not all pharmacies are up-to-date with this new migraine treatment and some people have had issues with getting their prescription for Emgality filled for […]
Long-term use of migraine preventive medications
There’s very little about managing migraine that’s easy. This is especially true when our migraine attacks become so severe or frequent that they can’t be adequately controlled with acute medication and we have to consider preventive therapy. Unlike acute medication, which we take at the time of a migraine attack, preventive therapy means we’re committed […]
Anti-seizure medications and migraine
Even though they were developed to treat seizure disorders, anti-seizure medicines are commonly used for migraine prevention. However, they only work about half of the time and they are not easy to take, having multiple and often unpleasant side effects. Anti-seizure medicines that can be recommended for migraine prevention include topiramate (Topamax), sodium valproate (Epilim), […]
GPs encouraged to become familiar with CGRP medications for migraine
Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) medications. They’re without doubt this century’s revolution in migraine treatment. Including both injectable monoclonal antibodies (e.g. Emgality) and oral tablets (gepants), they’re the first pharmaceuticals specifically developed for migraine, based on scientific research on how migraine attacks originate in the brain. They target CGRP, a neuropeptide involved in the cascade of […]
Acute treatment for migraine attacks
Migraine is such a common disease, you’d expect all health professionals would know the best treatments and how to manage acute attacks. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the case. Migraine is commonly undertreated and mistreated. For example, we often hear from members in our community that they had not been told about or offered triptans for […]
Phases of a migraine attack
We’ve become more familiar with the phrase ‘Migraine is more than just a headache’ but what does that mean, exactly? In one sense, it means that the type of headache experienced during a migraine attack is usually more severe than the garden-variety tension-type headache. A migraine headache is described as throbbing, stabbing, pulsating, pounding, unbearable […]
The three blobs of our logo
If you’ve ever wondered why there are three overlapping blobby ovals in the Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand (MFANZ) logo, we have a variety of explanations. The main phases of migraine Strictly speaking, there are four main phases of migraine: the prodrome or premonitory phase, the aura phase, the headache phase, and the post-dromal or […]
Holidays start – and along comes a migraine attack
It’s a familiar story – the end of the year, finishing up at work, rushing around to prepare for Christmas, packing up for a holiday away, then finally, you can relax and enjoy a break. Except… just as you reach for that book you’ve been planning to read for weeks, you feel the first tentacles […]
The power of a crystal-clear day
Migraine attacks come in phases for many people. They start with a constellation of possible symptoms, from fatigue, neck stiffness, yawning, sensitivity to light, sound, touch and smell, food cravings, mood changes and blurred vision. These can last for an hour or two or even a few days. Then, in 20–30% of people with migraine, […]
Biofeedback: an underused migraine treatment
There’s a treatment for migraine that is safe, has no side effects and may work as well as a preventive medication – but it’s not a pill. (3) That treatment is biofeedback. Biofeedback is a method of training people to control physiological functions, including heart rate, temperature, breathing rate and muscle tension. This is done […]
